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Auditors tell Cloquet board federal shutdown forces split of district audit; financial statements to be issued first
Summary
Auditors told the Cloquet school board that a federal government shutdown delayed a form needed to complete the district’s federal 'single audit,' prompting the auditor to split the financial statement audit (to be issued by December) from the single audit (extended to March 31, 2026).
The Cloquet Public School District was told on Oct. 27 that a federal government shutdown has delayed a form required to complete its federal single audit, forcing auditors to issue the district’s financial statement audit separately and before the single audit.
Luke Graden, a principal at audit firm CLA, told the board the district must complete a federal single audit because it receives more than $750,000 in federal funds. "We need that document in order to issue any single audit," Graden said, adding that Minnesota’s Department of Education has extended the single-audit submission deadline to March 31, 2026. "So long story short, single audit put to the side for now, and we will circle back to that as soon as we can," he said.
Why it matters: The single audit summarizes compliance for federal programs and is required for entities with substantial federal expenditures. Graden said the firm can complete and issue the financial statement audit — the district’s regular fiscal statements — before the single audit, and that MDE still expects the financial statement audit to be submitted by December.
Graden told the board the firm will split the reports: the financial statement audit will be prepared and issued first so the district can meet state reporting expectations, and the single-audit portion will follow once the federal clearinghouse/form is available. He offered to present final draft numbers at the district’s early-November meeting if the board wanted preliminary review, and the board agreed to plan for a presentation at the Nov. 24 meeting with statements delivered by Nov. 19.
Board members asked practical questions about acceptance, timing and where submissions go if federal structures change; Graden said single-audit filings go to the state education department and to the federal clearinghouse that controls federal-program reporting, and he acknowledged uncertainty about broader federal changes during the shutdown.
Next steps: The board directed staff to schedule the auditor presentation for the second November meeting and requested the financial statements be provided to the board by Nov. 19. The single audit will be completed and presented later after the federal form is available.
Graden closed by thanking the board and said he would keep the district posted on any change in federal timelines.
